Preparing for an Eventual Brokerage Sale

The market for the sale and purchase of brokerage companies is at an all-time high right now.  REAL Trends has done more valuations so far this year than it did in a full year just a short time ago.  We are also representing more sellers than ever in our 31-year history.  And, it's across the board—all different markets, model firms, and brands.  And for all different reasons.

One thing that an owner needs to do, whether selling or buying today or tomorrow, is record keeping.

Owners need to have the basics in good order and available.  Things like:

• Corporate books and records
• Copies of equipment and space leases
• Copies of supplier and vendor contracts
• Copies of agent ICAs
• Copies of company policy manuals
• Trailing three to four years of financial records and tax returns

This is not a complete list of what buyers want when they look at investing in or buying a brokerage firm.  The due-diligence list for most buyers is even more detailed. The point is that it gives a leader/owner direction to immediately gather and secure all of the documents that pertain to one’s company.

READ MORE: Valuations - What To Do & How To Get Started

National Productivity Data

We get requests for certain data about national averages for a variety of things.  One of the most common is “What is the national average productivity of Realtors®?"

Here's how we figure it for 2017.

• Total existing home sales                           5.5 million
• Total new home sales                                    600,000
• Total sales units                                           6.1 million
• Total transaction sides potential                12.2 million
• Agent involvement rate on transactions            85 percent
• Total transactions are done by agents            10.4 million
• Total average Realtors for 2017                Est. 1.3 million
• Average transaction sides per Realtor              7.9 per Realtor